Judaism, Apartheid, and the Gospel

Ron Sider, in his book Good News and Good Works, tells the story of James, a Jewish student in South Africa, whom he met at a conference at a South African university.

"His passion in life was the struggle against apartheid. Somehow,
hoewever, these devout white Christians had caught his attention. James
and I quickly became friends talking about South African politics hour after
hour. ...[James said] 'God told me that if I would come to this
conference, I would learn something about his Son.'
I looked at James and replied, 'James, I believe that Jesus Christ died on
the cross and rose again for you.'
He paused for a second and then astonished me again, 'I believe all of that
Ron, I really do.' Still he held back. Something obviously was
blocking his acceptance of Christ. After a moment, he said quietly, 'I
don't want to be like those white Christians here. They sing about the
love of Jesus and the joy of heaven, but they don't care about justice in South
Africa. If I become a Christian will I have to give up the
struggle?'"

James later became a Christian. He certainly made a valid point, the lost must see in us a passion for Christ as well as a passion for the poor and the oppressed. Many more neat stories and valid points in Sider's book. And don't be confused, Sider is no liberal, social gospeler. He's very much a Bible believing, conservative Christian. Good stuff!